National Park Service celebrates centennial anniversary

The National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday today with events across the U.S. including the creation of a giant, living version of its emblem in Washington, D.C., a naturalization ceremony on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and an outdoor concert at Yellowstone National Park.The centennial comes as the agency that manages national parks as well as historic places welcomes a new national monument and nature forces some changes in the party in the West.

---

---

This photo provided by the National Park Service shows people on the National Mall in Washington, looking toward the World War II Memorial, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, creating a giant, living version of the National Park Service emblem. Participants used brown, green and white umbrellas to create the emblem. (Tim Ervin/National Park Service via AP)

---

More than 1,000 kids and adults used brown, green and white umbrellas to create a living version of the park service emblem on the National Mall, which the agency photographed from a helicopter above. The emblem contains elements symbolizing the major facets of the national park system. A Sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, mountains and water represent scenery and recreation and the arrowhead shape represents history and archaeology. The first 1,000 participants were allowed to keep their umbrellas and got T-shirts commemorating the event.

In honor of the centennial anniversary, we looked through our archive and made a selection of photos of U.S. National Parks though the years. 

---

Rainier National Park 1933

In heavy timber in Rainier National Park, Washington, members of the Civilian Conservation Corps are at work, July 3, 1933, on forest fire prevention, trail building and soil erosion program laid out by the National Park Service. Company 930, made up of Washington State boys, is shown in its camp at Tahoma Creek, the first C.C.C. camp to be established in the park, July 3, 1933. (AP Photo)

Yellowstone National Park 1978

Geologist Rick Hutchinson watches over a spurt of activity from one of his charges - a steam hole in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Aug. 4, 1978. Hutchinson is a “thermal ranger” for the park - he takes water samples, charts eruptions, monitors temperatures of the park’s estimated 10,000 thermal features. And he helps fish out coins, cans and other junk that visitors fling into the geysers. (AP Photo/John Kuglin)

Sequoia National Parks 1948

Fire ate out the inside of this giant sequoia in Sequoia National Park, California, shown Aug. 7, 1948, yet it bears foliage like a normal tree. (AP Photo)

Yosemite National Park 1943

Some of the patients of the Yosemite National Park Naval Convalescent Hospital try their hand at trout fishing in the Merced River which runs through Yosemite Valley, Calif., August 12, 1943. Seated on bank, left, is Joseph P. Clements, PFC in the marines. At right is George Whisman, ship's cook 2nd class of Portland, Ore. In left background the North Dome rises 7,531 feet. At right, Half Dome rises 8,852 feet. (AP Photo/Ernest King)

Cuyahoga Valley National Park 2004

A coyote peers through the high grass in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio Tuesday, June 1, 2004. Though numerous in rural areas in Ohio, coyotes flee from the presence of humans. (AP Photo/Jamie-Andrea Yanak)

Florida Everglades 1953

Photographers approach close to the Cuthbert bird rookery on Cuthbert Lake in Florida's Everglades, June 29, 1953. This is one of the few remaining rookeries in Florida. Herons, egrets, ibis, pelicans and spoonbills are nesting in this one. (AP Photo)

Yellowstone National Park 1979

An American wild bison buffalo, its head crusted with ice and snow, looks up at a human visitor to wintry Yellowstone Park while foraging for food in deep snow in Wyoming, March 2, 1979. (AP Photo/Gary Guisinger)

Death Valley National Park 2016

In this Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 photo, wildflowers bloom alongside the road near Badwater Basin in Death Valley, Calif. Death Valley National Park is awash in color from fall rainstorms that provided the needed start to produce a wintertime super bloom of wildflowers for the first time since 2005. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Florida Everglades 2005

A great egret sits on top of a dead tree in the Florida Everglades, near South Bay, Fla. Friday, Jan. 14, 2005, as the sky turns darks as a thunderstorm moves across the area. Environmental officials hope that more native plants and wildlife will return to the area once a new restoration project begins cleaing the water running off of a former sugar cane fields into the Everglades. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

Big Bend Country 1969

Aerial view of Big Bend Country, Texas in 1969. This is part of the "America the Beautiful" series. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams)

Glacier Bay National Park 2008

The goal of the Big Expedition for Cancer Research, mountain 8290, at left, rises above surrounding glaciers, in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska Thursday, March 13, 2008. Four climbers will attempt to summit the unclimbed peak to raise funds and awareness for cancer research. (AP Photo/Chris Miller)

Yosemite National Park 1961

View of Fisherman in river with mountains in background on 1961 in Yosemite National Park. (AP Photo)

Acadia National Park 2006

In this file photo made Dec 20, 2006, stars trails streak across the sky in a 75-minute time-exposure at Acadia National Park, Maine. The star-filled night skies are being celebrate during the fifth annual Acadia Night Sky Festival which begin Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 and runs through Sunday. The festival is a community celebration to promote and protect Acadia's dark night skies.(AP Photo by Robert F. Bukaty)

Yosemite National Park 2015

In this Jan. 14, 2015, file photo, shows El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, Calif. The names of iconic hotels and other facilities in the world-famous Yosemite National Park will soon change in an ongoing battle over who owns the intellectual property, park officials said Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. The move comes in an ongoing dispute with Delaware North, the company that lost a $2 billion bid, the National Park Services largest single contract, to run Yosemite’s hotels, restaurants and outdoor activities. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

Death Valley National Park 2016

This Saturday, March 26, 2016 photo shows the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley, Calif. In the summer Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth. Even in spring, it's about as hot many other places are come August, with April and May temperatures ranging from the 70s to just over 100. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Joshua Tree National Park 2013

The sun sets behind joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, in Twentynine Palms, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Grand Canyon National Park 2012

This Oct. 22, 2012 photo shows a view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Grand Canyon officials say hotels, mule rides and restaurants at the South Rim will remain open to millions of visitors once they award a temporary concessions contract. A new 15-year contract worth up to $1 billion for services at the South Rim is up for bid for a third time after previous bids didn't meet the park's terms. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Denali National Park 2006

The aurora borealis rises high above the Alaska Range Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006, in Denali National Park, Alaska. Forecasters from the University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute are predicting several days of very high aurora activity this weekend with displays that could reach as far as Salem, Ore., and Chicago, Ill. (AP Photo/M. Scott Moon)

Mount Rainier National Park 2012

Mount Rainer is seen at dawn Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, from Seattle, some 50 miles away from the national park. A Mount Rainier National Park ranger was fatally shot following a New Year's Day traffic stop, and the 368-square mile park in Washington state was closed as dozens of officers searched for the armed gunman over snowy and rugged terrain. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Yosemite National Park 2013

This April 2013 photo shows giant sequoia trees dwarfing a visitor in Merced Grove in Yosemite National Park in California. Sequoias are among the largest, oldest trees on earth. (AP Photo/Kathy Matheson)

Yosemite National Park 1952

Three hikers pause to rest near firefall ledge on the ledge climb to Glacier Point from Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in California, July 8, 1952. In background is famed Half Dome, chief landmark of the Valley. Left to right: Reed Campbell, of Taft, Calif.; Robin Yelland, of Berkley, Calif., and her cousin, Gwen Yelland, of Clarksburg, Calif. (AP Photo/Ernest K. Bennett)

Mojave Desert 1955

Lots are on sale on the Mojave Desert for $570 and up, shown 1955. A Joshua tree, member of the lily family which lives for hundreds of years, on the lot costs $25 extra. (AP Photo)

Grand Canyon National Park 1938

A group on horseback travel up a path at the Grand Canyon in Arizona, June 8, 1938. (AP Photo)

Yellowstone National Park 2011

In this photo taken, Saturday, May 21, 2011, a tourist walks along the boardwalk at Midway Geyser Basin inside Yellowstone National Park, Mont. As the summer travel season kicks off this Memorial Day weekend, many people may take one look at the price of an airplane ticket or a gallon of gas and decide to put off their dream vacation for one closer to home and closer to nature. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Yellowstone National Park 1937

In near freezing weather, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt stop to admire the Great Falls in Yellowstone Canyon, Yellowstone Park in Wyoming, Sept. 26, 1937. (AP Photo)

Yellowstone National Park 2011

This Dec. 23, 2011 photo shows the Upper Geyser Basin at sunset in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. Most wintertime visitors choose to tour Yellowstone by snowcoach or snowmobile. But there's really no better way to become immersed in the park than with a pair of skis. There are some easy outings, such as the trails around the Upper Geyser Basin. Then there are the tougher ones, including arduous trails to the Continental Divide. (AP Photo/Matt Volz)

Death Valley 1932

A picture of Death Valley, whose arid sweep has claimed the lives of many a pioneer, shown Dec. 17, 1932. In the distance are the Funeral Mountains. Aside from an occasional tourist and prospector, there are few inhabitants in this region. (AP Photo)

---

See these photos on AP Images.com

Text from the AP news story, Park Service marks centennial with new citizens, monument, by ME State Wire.

Follow AP photographers on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers

Spotlight is the blog of AP Images, the world’s largest collection of historical and contemporary photos. AP Images provides instant access to AP’s iconic photos and adds new content every minute of every day from every corner of the world, making it an essential source of photos and graphics for professional image buyers and commercial customers.  Whether your needs are for editorial, commercial, or personal use, AP Images has the content and the expert sales team to fulfill your image requirements. Visit apimages.com to learn more.

Written content on this site is not created by the editorial department of AP, unless otherwise noted. 

AP Images on Twitter | AP Images on Facebook | AP Images on Instagram